When I learned there was a Robin Hood movie out there I hadn’t seen that starred Keira Knightley I knew I had to track it down. Princess of Thieves isn’t the most original tale of a headstrong young girl showing her father she can stand on her own, but it does provide its share of moments.

The film centers around the daughter of Robin Hood (Stuart Wilson) and Marian (Hannah Cresswell) who has grown estranged from her father, whom she sees rarely. When news reaches that Richard the Lionheart is dying the king sends his chosen heir, his only son Phillip (Stephen Moyer), into Robin Hood’s keeping and away from the treacherous plans of Prince John (Jonathan Hyde).

I’ve been asked by several friends and family members over the past week – “What’s the buzz on the new Robin Hood movie?” Before I saw the movie, I simply replied that I hadn’t heard anything yet, but I expect at least decent things from its helmer, the iconic Ridley Scott. He may have never matched the greatness of his early features Alien and Blade Hunter; but he’s always put out interesting work. To say that movies like Black Hawk Down, Body of Lies, and Matchstick Men will go down as his lesser works says a lot about the filmmaker.

So even though I thought the trailers presented little need for a retelling of the Robin Hood tale, I trusted that Scott would make it worth my time.

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe come together once again to create a a film about one man’s bloody journey to martyrdom. Sound familiar? Fans of Gladiator should like the look of this film, and fans of Braveheart should like the story (at one point Mel Gibson Crowe rouses a reluctant army by talking of liberty and freedom). Fans of the character, however, might have some issues with this new take on Robin Hood.

I’ll give Scott credit for trying to do a different type of Robin Hood film. Rather than focus on Robin and the outlaws of Sherwood Forest, the script by Brian Helgeland focuses entirely on the journey of a young archer from the Crusades to enemy of the crown. The entirety of the film (140 minutes) is dedicated to showing how Robin Hood came into being. Of course that means that the film entitled Robin Hood is missing one important ingredient – Robin Hood himself.